A Ring for Kazuha
by HopeGrace1290
Summary: Heiji buys a ring for Kazuha, but instead of being pleased, she's angry. One-shot.


**Disclaimer: Yadda yadda.**

**Fanfictions are so addicting!**

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The art of giving gifts is a very intricate business, something that would go haywire with the pettiest of petty faux pas.

Hattori Heiji learnt this the hard way.

It all began on a typical day when Heiji and Toyama Kazuha double-dated with Kudo Shinichi and Mouri Ran. Much to Heiji's misfortune, after going through so much hardship, the latter couple was all the more devoted and amorous, as proven by the sparkling piece of gem resting serenely on Ran's middle finger.

"It's so lovely!" Kazuha gushed, examining the solitaire thoroughly, her bright lime eyes gleaming with admiration.

"Getting married already?" Heiji teased. "I didn't know you are so impatient, Kudo."

A glowing red hue emerged on the faces of the Tokyo couple.

"Baka ro! It's just a simple present, nothing much," Shinichi retorted.

"Oh? A very lavish 'simple' present, that is," Heiji taunted.

"Uruse yo! You're just jealous."

That automatically triggered the defense mechanism in Heiji. He sputtered and thumped down hard on the table.

"W-What is there to be jealous about!"

"Maybe you're not, but I am…" Kazuha murmured, her head bowed in embarrassment.

"N-Nani?"

Kazuha looked up from her lap and glanced sideways at Heiji. "You never do anything romantic for me…"

"Kazuha…"

Shinichi smirked. "Girlfriend problem, Hattori?"

"Urusai!"

From that day onwards, Heiji felt something distinct. A nagging sensation in his chest that would not go away, a leaden burden weighing down his internals. An emotion that aroused whenever he saw Kazuha.

She acted no different, however. Still as bubbly and high-spirited as always. It left Heiji wondering what the heck was wrong with himself.

It was after some time when Heiji finally recognised the sentiment as – guilt. But what was he guilty for?

Again, some time passed before he ultimately acknowledged that he was feeling guilty for not satisfying Kazuha like a boyfriend should, for not pleasing her with everything he had. It was at that moment he ambled past a stall selling rings.

The rings were no normal rings. They were silver bands with a small glowing orb where a jewel customarily sat. The orbs swirled with colours, pink, blue, green, you name it. All in all, they appeared very attractive.

"How much for one?" Heiji inquired.

"1000 yen, sir," the stall owner replied. Heiji's bottle-green eyes widened. It sounded like a terrific bargain.

"I'll have this one. Doumo," Heiji selected one currently shimmering with a pretty shade of green to match Kazuha's eyes. The coiled sense in his stomach disappeared.

He was going to give it to Kazuha.

You would have thought being the Detective of the West should have alerted him that nothing was as simple as ABC. But then, he was as good as a kindergarten student in the romance department.

Which resulted in Kazuha screaming, "WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY GIVING ME A MOOD RING?" in his ears.

He shook his head to clear off the buzzing in his ears. "Nani? What mood ring?"

"This!" Kazuha hissed, brandishing the abovementioned ring in front of Heiji. The orb was currently churning a wild hue of scarlet. "This mood ring! Are you trying to tell me that I'm MOODY?"

To be honest, at that moment Heiji was very tempted to agree. But something told him that stating that out loud would not help things.

"But I didn't know!" he protested.

"How can you NOT know? You're the brilliant detective who solved countless cases! How can you not tell that this OBVIOUSLY is a mood ring? What kind of ring did you think would change colours like that?" Kazuha shrieked.

Heiji scratched his head. Now he had no answer to that.

Kazuha tossed the ring on the floor, tears welling up. She turned her back to Heiji and marched away.

"You can just say out loud that you think I'm temperamental, you don't need to imply it to me like that."

And with that, she darted away, leaving the ring eddying with a melancholic tint of blue on the floor.

Heiji knelt down and picked it up, gazing at it in shock. He was still not quite sure what happened.

"I'm an ahou…" he mumbled.

Straightening up, he strolled away, rambling aimlessly through the streets, the ring clutched tightly in his palm. Eventually, he found himself standing at the ring stall again. Eyes blazing maniacally, he grasped the stall owner by the collar.

"Why didn't you tell me this is a mood ring?" he bellowed.

"I-It's written right there!" the man responded, desperately pointing at a sign on the stall. As expected, the words 'Mood Rings For Sale' were emblazoned across it. Olives contracted into dots sheepishly.

"Oh…" he uttered out, feeling more idiotic than he had ever felt his entire life. He released the man – who took a few steps back defensively – and leaned against the stall. A sigh escaped from his lips.

"By the way, what's a mood ring?" he enquired. The poor man nearly collapsed with exasperation.

"A mood ring is a ring that alters colour according to the bearer's mood," the man elucidated.

Heiji 'oh'ed. "Ahou…" he reprimanded himself.

Suddenly, he stiffened as a brainwave flashed across his mind.

"I'll buy another one, please!" he hastily said and chucked a few bills into the astonished man's hand before grabbing another ring and loping towards God-knows-where.

He halted in a garden with a tinkling river and burgeoning flower bushes. Making his way through the well-tended shrubs, he was delighted to find a girl sitting under a sakura tree.

"Kazuha!" he exclaimed and sprinted towards her. Kazuha glanced around. As soon as she perceived him, however, she began walking away. Heiji caught her by the arm and swung her around.

"How did you find me?" she asked and struggled off his grip to no avail.

"You're always here when you're upset," Heiji reasoned.

Kazuha snarled. "Oh, so you're back to being smart, eh?" she jeered, emeralds flaming at him. Heiji cringed.

"I'm really sorry, I didn't know! I swear! Look!" he blurted out, holding up a hand where a mood ring was bound on the middle finger. "Kazuha, you know how stupid I think these things are. But I'm willing to wear it for you if you want."

Kazuha gasped. "H-Heiji…"

"And I was not trying to insinuate that you're moody. Even if you are, I would still love you and no one else. Just because you're Toyama Kazuha. It's that simple."

Kazuha gazed up into those earnest verdants, listening to her heartbeat accelerating.

"H-Heiji, I-I… I'm an ahou for lashing out at you. I'm sorry."

Heiji brushed her lightly on the lips. "It's okay. I forgive you."

Kazuha beamed, her green eyes assuming a playful glint and a palm outstretched. "Give me the ring."

"Eh? Doshite?"

"To show you how sorry I am, I'm going to wear it with you," she giggled. Heiji raised an eyebrow in amusement. "And I'm going to let you put it on for me."

Heiji's grin broadened. He seized Kazuha's hand and inserted Kazuha's fourth finger into the ring.

"Heiji, that's the wrong finger!"

Heiji smirked mischievously. "No, it's the right finger. You did say you would let me put it on whichever finger I wanted."

"You don't mean… Heiji… Are you proposing?" Kazuha stammered, searching for his eyes.

...Silence... And finally...

"Only if you say yes."

Kazuha smiled radiantly and flung her arms around Heiji's neck. An answer was not necessitated.

So, in the end, the wrong gift turned out to be the RIGHT one after all. All's well that ends well.

The End

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**Wait... Women always have the last word, right?**

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Kazuha: I still want a diamond ring.

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**Not my usual kind of style, but I like to try everything! Lalala, writing is fun, lalala...  
**


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